


Destroyer of Hope

by notEriX



Series: Alchemystuck [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, Fish Puns, I made it up, M/M, alchemystuck, also there are, and yes i used their quirks in their dialogue, because it's eridan, but y'know, for now it's called, there's some mildy suggestive stuff?, this somehow ended up over 2k?, well sort of for tavros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-31 02:17:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10889607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notEriX/pseuds/notEriX
Summary: Your title isn't exactly what you’d hoped for– hah. Hope. Apparently it’s your destiny to ruin it. The symbol on the back of your gloves tells everyone who sees it to avoid you, lest you crush their dreams beneath the heel of your boot.





	Destroyer of Hope

_Destroyer of Hope._

Your title isn't exactly what you’d hoped for– hah. _Hope._ Apparently it’s your destiny to ruin it. The symbol on the back of your gloves tells everyone who sees it to avoid you, lest you crush their dreams beneath the heel of your boot.

Feferi doesn't seem to mind it, but she’s actually pretty tolerant of everyone no matter if their powers meant that they'd shit rainbows and butterflies or if they'd rend the universe to pieces. She sees the good in everyone, which means she sees the good in _you._ It's weird for you, especially considering the spectacular failure you made of your moirallegiance with her. You're a mess, and really, you always have been.

It's not the worst power set to have. The poor schmuck who's on the Dersian throne is destined to destroy souls. You don't know the Strider family, you only met the current king once and that was before his coronation, but from what little you remember he's an alright guy for a human. You could have also ended up with death powers like Sollux. _That_ would be fucking terrible.

All in all, you could be worse off.

Even so, you feel a bit outcasted from your friend circle nowadays. You're all busy people, running this kingdom you'd helped build from scratch, but you all usually made a little time to just _hang out._ That hasn't been happening lately and, as much as you complain about them all, they're still your friends and you miss them. You _have_ been avoiding them a little bit, though. You don't want them to hate you for your powers.

There's a knock on the door to your outer chambers that startles you out of your thoughts. You're not expecting visitors, and you have no idea who it might be. You stride to the door and pull it open to find Tavros waiting for you. He looks up at you from under his mohawk and smirks. It does something funny to your bloodpusher, seeing him do that. You have no idea what he could possibly want with you. It can't be anything malicious, though. He's never been anything but kind, which has always bothered you.

“Can I help you, Tavvros?” You ask stiffly, trying to ignore how irrationally angry you feel seeing the easy slump of his shoulders and the relaxed position of his arms hanging over the sides of his four wheel device. Now is _not_ the time to think about this pitch crush of yours.

“Yeah, uh, you could start by, not say1ng me name l1ke that?” He says haltingly, phrasing it like a question. He purses his lips in a frown, and you clench your fingers in irritation. “1 know 1t’s, l1ke, part of your _th1ng,_ but you're k1nd of, butchering my name there? And 1 don't really, apprec1ate that.”

You try not to grind your teeth. “Yeah. Sorry _Tavv._ ” You can't help but antagonize him. Part of you hopes that he realizes you're pitch flirting and the rest of you is screaming _‘NO!’_ as loud as it can. You watch as Tavros’s eyes narrow and a gust of wind messes up his already disheveled hair. The breeze is so strong that it knocks your glasses askew and stings your eyes a little. You snarl at him, and he laughs at you, hunched forward in his chair and clutching his stomach.

_He laughs at you._ He knows exactly what he's doing. “Are you pitch flirtin’ wwith me?” You blurt out. You hope you didn't just fuck everything up. You've been known, in the past, to overestimate people's actions toward you. He stops laughing and settles against the back of the chair. That smirk comes back onto his face, and you didn't know something so arrogant could look good on someone so humble, but here the evidence is, right in front of you.

“So what 1f 1 am?” he asks, and suddenly your bloodpusher is in your throat.

You can't make any words come out. You know you're blushing, and you know he knows you're blushing by the slow rise of one of his eyebrows. “Wwell– I–” You curse yourself for stuttering and then jerk back from the doorway, pulling it open enough that Tavros can get his chair through. “Just– come in.” You rub your face and fix your glasses while he glides in. He settles by your couch and you shut the door before following him over and taking a seat.

“You– Do you really hate me like that?” You hate how soft your voice is. You hate him for making you feel vulnerable.

His face scrunches up the slightest bit and he glares at you. “Yes, 1 do. You're so pathet1c and lonely. And you're, really smart but 1t’s l1ke, you're afra1d to act l1ke 1t! You're always play1ng 1nto the stup1d desperate asshole th1ng that people, stereotype you as, and you're so, rude!” He's leaning forward, now, and gesticulating wildly. You've sunk back into the couch cushions to avoid being hit in the face in these close quarters. “–and 1’m, 1’m s1ck of t1ptoe1ng around these dumb p1tch feel1ngs. 1 know you were, you were fl1rt1ng back but 1f you don't, want to do th1s just tell me now so 1 can, leave w1th most, of my d1gn1ty 1ntact.”

“Wwhat dignity?” You ask, tension seeping out of you as you smirk right back at him. “I do wwant to try this wwith you. I sink wwe could havve somefin good.”

“1 have, plenty of d1gn1ty, excuse you,” he pouts. “And, ‘s1nk’? 1s that a f1sh pun?”

“Yeah, it is a fish pun. You got a problem, buoy?” You grin, exposing all your teeth.

He glares at you and nudges his four wheel device closer before tugging you forward by your scarf. He stops and holds you just inches away from his face. “Can 1 k1ss you?” he asks, and you roll your eyes before leaning forward the last little bit and taking his lower lip between your teeth.

You're careful enough that they only leave a line of small punctures, which well up with blood. One of his hands is tangling in the hair at the base of your skull and the other is still latched onto your scarf and pulling you further into his lap. It's a bit awkward, as the four wheel device was made according to his proportions and you don't have the room to settle your knees on either side of his legs. Instead you just let them hang over the side, and then his hands are on you and you stop thinking about that.

Something you will never get used to about warmbloods is how, well, _warm_ they are. Tavros himself is the third warmest out of all your friends, and as the second coldest you can definitely feel the burning heat in his fingertips and lips. His right arm is around your back and his left is still tangled in your hair. You slide your hands up his chest and around his broad shoulders and then he tugs your head back and puts his lips to the gills on your neck and then you're gone.

 

When you wake up, your face is pressed up against Tavros’s bare torso. One of your eyes is mushed shut against his skin, but you can open the other easily enough. You admire your handiwork; scratches and bruises and teeth marks litter Tavros’s body, and you know you have a matching set from the little twinges of pain every time you shift your weight.

One of your legs is thrown up and draped over his hips. You move it a little, trying not to wake him, because this position is starting to get uncomfortable for your back and you need something to drink. Despite your caution, though, Tavros stirs. You watch as his face scrunches up in this irritatingly cute way and then his big, dark eyes flutter open and he looks up at the ceiling a moment, confused, before turning and seeing you.

He scowls at you, and you scowl right back. It falls from his face, though, and he reaches up and rubs his eyes.

“‘m too t1red to be a proper k1ssmes1s r1’ now,” he hums. You kind of get it. The… _activities_ you two participated in not too long ago were pretty taxing, after all. You shrug and shuffle closer to him, pillowing your head on his shoulder. He lifts his arm and wraps it securely around your waist.

That drink of water can wait.

He nuzzles the top of your head, and you headbutt his chin. Tilting your head like that gives him a prime opportunity to nibble on the tips of your horns, and he stretches and does just that. You hum and nip at his clavicle in retaliation. “I’d say you're doin’ a pretty good job a it,” you mutter against his neck. He grunts in response and pulls you fully on top of him, settling back against your pillows and sliding his arms around you. You pillow your head on his chest and eventually drift off.

 

* * *

 

Your palmhusk goes off at an ungodly hour of the day, startling you out of your well-deserved rest.

You reach out of your recuperacoon and slap the table a couple times before your hand lands on your glasses. You push them onto your face and pick up your communication device, squinting blearily at the bright display.

     Call From

     Tavvros ♠

     1:30 PM

You hope it's not an emergency, because you _really_ don't want to get out of your coon right now. The slime is comfortably warm and you're still in that sort of half-awake state that would make it easy to slip back into sleep. You answer the call, muttering a tired greeting to your kismesis. He chatters something excitedly at you, and you don't catch a single thing he says. You pull yourself up so that you're hanging halfway out of your coon and sigh.

“S’rry, Tavv, I didn't get a wword a that. Wwhat’re you callin’ me so late in the damned day for?” You wipe the slime out of your eyes and fling it onto the mat at the base of your coon.

Tavros huffs. “1 was, research1ng some th1ngs, because 1 was cur1ous, and 1 found someth1ng out that 1 thought you m1ght want, want to hear about, you douche.” He pauses. “1 d1dn’t, uhm, real1ze that 1t was so late.” He doesn't apologize outright, but you can hear it in his tone.

“Wwhatevver. Wwhat is it?” You're interested, now.

“Uhm, 1 th1nk 1t would be, eas1er to expla1n 1n person? 1’m 1n the l1brary.”

You heave a sigh; so much for going back to sleep. “Yeah, alright. I'll be there soon.”

“See you then, b1tch.” Tavros says. You bark out a laughter before hanging up.

 

You drag yourself out of the slime and towel off enough that you won't be dripping on your way to the ablution trap. It's not long before you're pulling on clothes– not your full noble regalia, but simple slacks and one of Tavros’s shirts that he'd left in your rooms. As an afterthought you wind a scarf around your neck and tug on your gloves before heading down to the library.

You're familiar enough with the palace’s many corridors at this point that the trip doesn't take long, and you're mostly awake by the time you find Tavros at a table between two tall shelves. On the table sits a smattering of loose papers and heavy tomes.

“So wwhat wwas so important that I had to come all the wwavve dowwn here to find out aboat it?” You plop down in Tavros’s lap and wrap one arm around his shoulders.

He sets down the book he'd been flipping through and tugs you closer, holding your thigh and your butt. “Well, 1 was look1ng at some of, our h1story. L1ke, Beforan h1story. And 1 was read1ng up on some of our symbols, because that k1nd of th1ng, 1nterests me a lot, and 1 found th1s.”

He lets go of your leg to tug a book into focus. He flips back a couple pages and you're not really invested until you realize that the symbol on the page is almost identical to your own. The lines symbolizing _hope_ , and the slash through the centerpiece to denote _destruction–_ but there's an additional mark around the whole thing. A full, closed circle, to denote _create_ or _give_.

Tav must have seen the look on your fave, because he pats your leg briskly before continuing to speak. “1n my read1ng, 1 found out that somet1mes, one's symbol can become s1mpl1f1ed over t1me. Occas1onally th1s 1s because your powers man1fest d1fferently after a wh1le, but, mostly 1t’s because of b1as. And, a lot of people never even, f1nd out, because we’re always told not, not to quest1on our symbols and the place soc1ety g1ves us accord1ngly.” He picks up your hand and runs his thumb across the stitching in the back of your glove, glaring down at it. “1 know 1t, bothers you, that your powers are so destruct1ve, and that you w1sh they were anyth1ng but. So 1 dug a l1ttle deeper, and 1 found out that th1s 1s your true symbol.” He gestures to the open page, and you feel something loosening in your chest. You tighten your fingers around his, around his shoulders.

“…Tavv,” there are tears welling up in your eyes. “Wwh– you didn't havve to–” He pats your leg again, grimacing. You choke on a sob and shakily stand up. “I. I havve to be abalone right noww.”

Tavros rolls his eyes at your accidental pun. “Yeah, get go1ng, you b1g baby.” You just nod and turn to leave. He slaps your ass on your way by, and you laugh through your tears.

 

* * *

 

Of all people to have helped you like this, you never would have thought– but, no, a month ago you didn't even _have_ a kismesis. But then Tavros showed up at your chamber door, and then he researched your symbol for you, and now here you are replacing your armor and your gloves and everything you've ever had the emblem of your power sewn into.

_It's just a circle_ , some might say. but to you that circle is _everything_ . For sweeps you've been shunned for your power to destroy, but all along it was a simple bastardization that caused so much grief and all along you could also _create_ .

You must be working it already because you feel _hopeful_.

**Author's Note:**

> i've never written for something like this before lmao


End file.
